With each passing year, the world is becoming more and more software defined.

Example: In 2002, TomTom created a new product category with it’s Personal Navigation Devices. You know, those square navigation systems with a suction cup to hold it in place.

Just 10 years later, you don’t see many of those devices stuck to the windshields of passing cars. (Maybe just the milky ringed shadow of a forgotten technology.)

Today, every smart phone comes with a navigation system. The TomTom solution was hardware defined. It required special hardware to run the navigation software.

Now the solution is software defined. The software doesn’t care where it runs. As long as a few minimal requirements are met, you are good to go.

Software Defined AV/IT

The beginnings of a software defined revolution are underway in AV/IT. Touchpanels are often replaced with iPads and other smart tablets. Digital matrix switchers are about to ride into the sunset and join its analog predecessors. One rack unit network switches are eagerly waiting on the sidelines to take their place.

Video conferencing codecs used to take up space in your rack. Now they have names like BlueJeans, Google Hangouts, Skype For Business and Zoom. Sure those services run on a server sitting in a rack somewhere. But the software doesn’t care where it is or whose brand name is silkscreened on it.

Software development techniques and standards are part of the reason for this trend.

Tools like Github make sharing and collaborating on software projects accessible to anyone. Because of this easy access, developers are motivated to write good code with best practices defined by active and experienced communities.

It is a snowball effect that just keeps feeding on itself. Hardware gets smaller and cheaper, frameworks get more powerful, collaboration increases, quality improves.